"Winner": Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D

Well, Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D just happened to be the only major release this weekend so it won by default!

Haven't seen any of the other films in the series, but unlike Twilight, I'm not going to bother catching up...

Winner: Machete

Well in the midst of a very busy couple of weeks, Machete won the weekly poll. I will be posting a review on it sometime after I finish the one for Its a Wonderful Life, and for Bachelor Party, and for Takers... methinks I bit off more than I could chew last week...

Featured New Release Poll- 9/3

New poll is up!

This week's contenders are:

Machete, Robert Rodriguez's expansion on a fake trailer that played during Grindhouse when it was in theaters. Starring Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, Jessica Alba, and Robert DeNiro, it looks like another ode to schlocky 70's cinema.

The American with George Clooney is next. Clooney plays an assassin who wants out of the biz, but finds some difficulty in retiring peacefully.

Finally we have Going the Distance, a romantic comedy with Justin Long (???) and Drew Barrymore centered on making a long distance relationship work.

The Switch

I took the opportunity to combine blog business with my personal affairs, killing two birds with one stone by taking Stephanie with me to see The Switch. I figured it looked like a perfect date movie, although she did pay for the two of us, hmm. Well anyway, I guess I am a crappy boyfriend.

I was right about The Switch, though. It is downright charming. Not my favorite quality in a film, mind you, but when that is what the flick is going for I cannot fault it for succeeding.

I haven't been pleasantly surprised by many films recently, but this one was better than I had feared. I didn't know anything about it beyond the basic premise (guy stuck in friend zone drunkenly impregnates his gal pal). The writers could have had a field day with that set up. In the hands of Judd Apatow and Co. we might have ended up with Knocked Up 2: Knocked Up Harder or something, but instead the film is understated, touching on the purely comedic aspects of the predicament early before settling in to the more emotional stuff later.

That being said, it is important to point out that The Switch is not altogether that funny. It was marketed as a straight forward rom-com but really that is only a half truth. Jeff Goldblum is humorous as Leonard, Wally (Jason Bateman)'s wry confidant, while Juliette Lewis plays Debbie, Kassie (Jennifer Aniston)'s BFF, with bizarre vigor. The two supporting players inject much of the comedy into the film.

The two leads, however, are spared from the typical pratfalls and physical gags that are so annoyingly common to the chick flick genre (although Bateman does have some good drunken scenes). Instead, the two are given scenes and lines that actually carry emotional weight, especially Bateman in his interactions with his supposed son Sebastian.

Ah yes, the boy. Played by Thomas Robinson, Sebastian could not have been any cuter if the casting director tried. Child actors miss the mark all too often in films such as this, especially when given such a heavy load, but the young Robinson was fine. His scenes with Bateman are the highlight of the film.

At the end of the night, I left the theater satisfied. Not emotionally taxed, not questioning the meaning of life or anything like that, but satisfied. Bottom line, The Switch isn't great, but I applaud it for trying to be different.


Attendance: 2/5
Crazy Fan Boy Factor: 0/5
Crowd Response: 2/5

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Production Value: 3/5
Humor: 2/5
Acting Performances: 4/5
Discuss: Diane Sawyer= Arousing? Yea or nay



Overall: 6/10

Winner: Takers

Hmm, not sure if I should call this an upset or not, but I was expecting the other film to win. Never the less, I will view Takers and let you know my take on it (ha).

Featured New Release Poll- 8/27

After last weeks epic slew of releases (one wide release didn't even earn a spot in the poll- sorry Nanny McPhee), this week's selection will be a bit easier... only two films to chose from. Summer is officially winding down.

The Last Exorcism is an indie horror flick produced by Eli Roth of Hostel fame. It concerns a young girl possessed by demons, and the exorcist who lets a film crew document his process. (Random thought- why are only young girls possessed by demons in the movies? Are demons just picky? Why no dudes? Come on demons, a guy could projectile vomit waaay better than Linda Blair. Just sayin'.)

Next on the ballot is Takers, a heist film with Paul Walker and Matt Dillon. And Hayden Christensen. Yeah, the one from Star Wars. No, not the little kid, that was Jake Lloyd, the older, more annoying, less talented one. Yes, he is still "acting". I know, I know.

Anyway, what was I talking about?

Oh, yeah please vote!

Next viewing assignment...

I haven't pulled a suggestion from the hat in a long time, sorry folks! To do a little catching up, I am going to pull a double feature this coming week!

I couldn't have selected more opposite films if I had tried...

First up will be It's a Wonderful Life, selected by Ben, the father of my friend Emily. On his survey he cites the film's central question, "what would this world be like without having you a part of it?", as his reason for loving it. This is my all time favorite Christmas movie, and also one of my top favorite overall movies, so I am looking forward to seeing it again.

Next will be Bachelor Party, a 1984 sleazy screwball comedy starring Tom Hanks. It was chosen by Eric, my cousin-in-law and resident goofball who only wrote "full frontal nudity" to explain his choice. So does Tom Hanks + breasts = awesome? I will let you know...